Ernie Preate

Ernest D. Preate, Jr. (born November 22, 1940) is a former RepublicanPennsylvania Attorney General. As Attorney General, he argued before the United States Supreme Court in the landmark case, Planned Parenthood of Southeast Pennsylvania v. Casey on behalf of Robert P. Casey, then governor of Pennsylvania. Preate also successfully argued another landmark case, in the United States Supreme Court addressing the death penalty.

Prior to serving as Attorney General, Preate was elected Lackawanna CountyDistrict Attorney. He ran for Governor of Pennsylvania in 1994, but came in second for the Republican nomination behind then-congressman Tom Ridge, who won the general election.

In 1995, Preate went to jail after pleading guilty to mail fraud charges.